Hyderabad: Telangana Rakshana Sena (TRS) president Kalvakuntla Kavitha on Wednesday demanded a separate OBC Census column. She urged the Telangana government to convene a special Assembly session and pass a resolution pressing the Centre to accept the proposal.
Addressing the Hyderabad OBC Declaration meeting at RTC Kalyana Mandapam in Bagh Lingampally, Kavitha called for a united movement across political parties. The All India OBC Students Association and the Telangana BC Rights Forum jointly organised the meeting.
Kavitha said reservations represented an asset that should pass to future generations. Therefore, she stressed the need for accurate enumeration of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the Census.
Kavitha seeks separate OBC Census column with drop-down option
Kavitha demanded that the Census include a dedicated column for OBCs, along with a drop-down option for recording community details. She argued that the proposed arrangement would help establish the actual population of OBC communities.
Furthermore, she questioned the justification for spending Rs 12,000 crore on the Census without accurately counting the OBC population. The TRS president urged the Telangana government to follow Tamil Nadu’s example by adopting an Assembly resolution on the issue.
She also demanded a special legislative session to discuss the proposal and formally request action from the Union government. Kavitha warned that Telangana should consider preventing the Census from taking place in the state if the Centre rejected the demand.
However, she maintained that the immediate priority was to secure a separate OBC Census column through an Assembly resolution. Kavitha announced that her party would participate in a dharna at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi in November.
OBC organisations planned the demonstration to demand a separate OBC Census column. She called for a collective struggle involving organisations and political parties to press the Centre to accept the demand.
Meanwhile, Kavitha recalled the movement for the Women’s Reservation Bill and the protests held in Delhi during that campaign. She said sustained demonstrations had helped the movement achieve its objective.
Similarly, she asserted that OBC organisations should launch a sustained campaign to secure their rights and demands. Kavitha emphasised that political differences should not prevent parties from joining the movement for OBC enumeration.
Kavitha questions Revanth Reddy’s commitment to BC issues
Kavitha also criticised Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy over his government’s approach to Backward Classes. She alleged that the Chief Minister lacked sincerity in addressing the concerns of BC communities.
The TRS president reiterated that the Telangana government should exert pressure on the Centre through a formal Assembly resolution. She again cited Tamil Nadu’s approach and urged the state administration to adopt a similar measure.
Additionally, Kavitha stressed that the demand for OBC enumeration required cooperation across political lines. She maintained that a separate OBC Census column was necessary to establish the community’s population accurately. The TRS leader reaffirmed her party’s participation in the planned November protest at Jantar Mantar.